Social media platform X told the Delhi High Court on Friday, November 6, that the takedown notices purporting to be from Delhi Police and seeking the blocking of the X accounts of the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) and the Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC.in) were sent by an impostor, not by the police, Bar and Bench reported.
Source: Bar and Bench
"It was an imposter. We have done an internal investigation and it turn out this was an imposter. We have filed a complaint with Delhi Police," X's counsel told Justice Amit Mahajan, adding that the handles of IFF and SFLC will not be taken down. Considering the submission, the court disposed of the petitions moved by the two groups, Bar and Bench reported.
Source: Bar and Bench
On November 4, IFF and SFLC.in said Delhi Police had ordered X to remove their accounts for allegedly defaming the RSS — the story Awaaz Punjab published then. Friday's hearing overturns that premise: X says the notices were fake, no action was taken on them, and it has complained to Delhi Police to find the impostor. Read the earlier story
Reuters likewise reported from Bengaluru that police orders asking X to block the accounts of two of India's most prominent free speech groups were fake, according to what the company told the court on Friday, days after the purported removal requests sparked a public outcry. Delhi Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters said.
Source: Reuters via 98.5 The River
What the notices had sought
One notice alleged the organisations had published defamatory content against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and invoked Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with criminal defamation. The second covered 40 URLs, including the entire X accounts of IFF, SFLC and Geo Blocked in India, and also sought removal of posts by 16 other users who had commented on the controversy, Bar and Bench reported.
Source: Bar and Bench
IFF and SFLC had questioned the notices' legality, arguing that criminal defamation is a non-cognisable offence the police cannot investigate without a magistrate's order, and that removing entire accounts was disproportionate and violated freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a). SFLC said its emails to the addresses given in the notices were returned undeliverable, and that it received no confirmation from Delhi Police's Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations Unit before filing, Bar and Bench reported. Senior Advocate Akhil Sibal argued the groups' case.
Source: Bar and Bench
In its own statement after the hearing, IFF said X submitted that the email from which the reports were submitted appears to be fake, that it has filed a complaint with Delhi Police and is not likely to take action on the reports at this stage, and that the court disposed of both petitions with liberty to approach the court afresh if any action is taken against their accounts or posts.
Source: Internet Freedom Foundation